


November 1st, 1992, 3:05 A.M.

by miss_exposition



Category: Smile For Me (Video Game)
Genre: Dysfunctional Relationships, Ficlet, Light Angst, M/M, Pre-Canon, almost comically on the nose unease, also angst is a loaded term its more like, bc writing explicit romance for this pairing is hard, getting there anyway, romantic aspects are left in the background
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 00:28:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30080676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_exposition/pseuds/miss_exposition
Summary: Habit and Kamal go property hunting.
Relationships: Kamal Bora/Dr. Boris Habit
Comments: 3
Kudos: 8





	November 1st, 1992, 3:05 A.M.

**Author's Note:**

> oh wow i can't wait to use this account to post fic from fandoms people know me for and actually give a shit about *posts fic for a game i haven't thought about in months* lol, lmao
> 
> EDIT 3/16: the original title was "sub-usual" as a placeholder but... i could not find a way to make it work. it was BAD.

Boris fawns over the idea of the Habitat like he’s expecting a baby, searching for potential properties to renovate the same way one would pick out a crib. Kamal should find it a lot more annoying than he does, but he knows by now that the analogy isn’t too far fetched; the Habitat is something that’s been brewing in Boris’ head ever since he was small. So Kamal doesn’t kick up much of a fuss, even when it’s three in the morning and he really should have gone home a long time ago and he’s all too aware he is going to hate himself tomorrow.

“You see something good?” he asks when he notices Boris staring rapturously at the computer screen. Boris nods excitedly, turning the monitor so that Kamal can get a better view of whatever he’s looking at. 

“This one, Kamal. It has to be this one.”

“Oh,” says Kamal, trying and failing not to wrinkle his nose at the sight of it. The site is some dinky Craigslist knockoff, and the building Boris apparently has his eye on isn’t much more impressive. “You, uh… you sure?”

“I have never been surier,” says Boris, prompting a quiet “you mean surer” from Kamal, which he waves away playfully. “When are we ever going to find something this spacious again? And for so cheap, too!”

“Pretty sure the place is cheap because it’s literally falling apart, dude,” Kamal points out. He leans on the desk chair, feeling awkward about standing ramrod straight next to Boris like a Hollywood movie secretary. “It’s gonna be a bitch and a half to fix up. Especially the tower.”

“All the more reason to fix it! We’d be making it our own, doesn’t that sound nice?” Boris looks at him expectantly for an agreement, frowning a little when he doesn’t find one. He clicks on one of the other preview images, revealing a slightly kitschy interior space that’d be good for a front desk, even in its current state of dilapidation. “What about the inside, then? It’s not too different from where you used to work.”

“...It’s not bad,” Kamal admits. Boris’ insistence on using “we” and not “I” makes some part of him feel warm. “It’d be better after a deep cleaning though.”

Boris laughs, a deep and pleasant sound. “Silly Kamal,” he chides him with no real malice. “Of course we will clean first. And then we can get to the fun part.”

Kamal nods, knowing exactly where Boris is going with this: redecorating. “First things first, we’re getting this baby a new wallpaper,” he says, lightly tapping the image of the room with one finger.

“Or a mural!” Boris gasps.

“I told you, I can barely draw a stick figure.”

“Well, then, I’ll make the mural!” Boris reassures him. “What else… A bookshelf? So it will feel less empty?”

“Good catch,” agrees Kamal. “Maybe some hanging plants - y'know, the kind with flowers? That seems like your kinda thing.”

“...What makes you think it’s my kind of thing?”

Kamal chuckles. “No offense, but my brain kinda feels like mush right now. I dunno if I could give you the most, uh, detailed explanation - ” he cuts himself off when he sees Boris’ face. The smile he’s been wearing for most of the night is nowhere to be found, his face now completely unreadable. It makes Kamal feel too exposed, even though he’s pretty sure he doesn’t have anything to hide.

“I mean,” he stammers. “Y’know, just… you always talk about how you’ve literally been dreaming about this ever since you were a kid. And I’ve seen this photo from when you were little on your desk a couple times, and you’re holding this big bouquet of-”

“I don’t like flowers,” says Boris, his voice soft. He sounds like Kamal’s just slapped him across the face.

“Oh.” Kamal doesn’t know what else there is to say. “Um. Okay.”

“I  _ don’t, _ ” Boris repeats himself, more forcefully this time.

“Okay,” says Kamal, holding his hands up. “Sorry for assuming.”

There’s an uncomfortably long silence that follows. Boris’ gaze is hard and flinty, and it never leaves Kamal’s face. He’s still not entirely sure what he said wrong, and that bothers him even more.

“You should be,” sighs Boris at last. He turns back towards the computer monitor, apparently now disinterested in Kamal. “Flowers for an office,” he scoffs, more to himself than anyone else. “Could you imagine?”

“I get it,” Kamal snaps. “Look, they’re just flowers, I didn’t think-”

“Clearly,” Boris retorts.

_ “Wow.” _

Boris continues to scroll through the bootleg Craigslist listings like Kamal isn’t even there. He has to know what he’s doing - at his worst, Boris Habit is bratty and impulsive and not very good at being manipulative (though God knows it doesn’t stop him from trying) but he’s far from stupid.

Kamal inhales deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Cool. Okay.” He makes his way to the foyer, fishing his wallet out from his pocket and grabbing his coat off the quaint little rack by the door. “See ya,” he calls over his shoulder before shutting the door behind him. He flags down the first cab that comes his way, and when he gets home the rest of the night is spent in a deep, dreamless sleep.

He wakes up the next morning (read: afternoon) to several missed calls from Boris. When he calls him back, Boris picks up almost immediately. His voice is hoarse and watery, and between his accent and constant sniffling his apology is nigh unintelligible. Kamal still reassures him that it’s okay, it was late, they were both more tired than they had realized, next time they would take another look at the place in a more timely manner. He takes great care not to mention the flowers. Boris seems satisfied with that.

Kamal doesn’t see that photo again.

**Author's Note:**

> i know craigslist was founded in 1995 but as s4m itself has established the level of technological advancement in this universe is based purely on whatever's the most convenient so. that's my defense.


End file.
